Sack of Potatoes
by SuperKat
Summary: Cute, fun and absolutely pointless. Goten and family play tag. There really is no plot. Read it for a smile.


DISCLAIMER: I don't own Dragonball Z. I really have no idea who does. But it isn't me. I just wrote this because I thought the idea was cute and it helped put me in a better mood. I'm not making any money; no infringement is intended. blah blah blah  
  
SACK OF POTATOES  
  
Goten's wild mess of hair trailed behind him in a stream of jet black as he ran, maneuvering his tiny body through thick tufts of tall grass. He laughed in delight, brushing aside the dry stalks that reached above his waist. The pure innocence of his expression was enough to put a warm smile on even the coldest of faces. Goku followed the boy at a slower pace. He smiled at the sight.  
  
"Hey, dad!" cried Goten over his shoulder. "Come try and catch- WAAAHHHH!"  
  
Goku held back laughter. The sight of his youngest son - having stepped into a mole hole and toppled into the thick grass out of view - was just too comical for words.  
  
"You okay, Goten?" he called into the grass.  
  
"Yeah!" came the muffled reply. The boy's head popped up; bits and pieces of grass stuck out of his wild black hair in all directions. Goku approached him and knelt down so that their faces were level with each other. Innocent young eyes stared into older, but still boyish ones. The two near-carbon-copied Saiyans smiled at each other.  
  
Goten looked at his feet and pointed to the ground.  
  
"I fell in a hole," he informed his father matter-of-factly.  
  
Goku smiled warmly. "I noticed."  
  
A light breeze played with their hair. Goten smiled shyly. For one moment they had returned to the beginning, when Goten had met his father for the very first time. He was quiet, unsure of what to do or what to say. Who was this man of whom Gohan and his mom and Krillen and Piccolo had spoken all his life? And yet. something about him stuck the boy as someone Goten had known forever. They were both glad things had turned out this way.  
  
"Tag! You're it!" Goten cried, tapping Goku on the shoulder. Goten laughed merrily and took off in the other direction.  
  
"Hey!" cried Goku as he stood.  
  
Goku's small smile grew into a frolicsome grin as he began his chase. Father and son laughed in unison. The uncertain moment lay forgotten in the shadows.  
  
"You can't catch me!" Goten cried over his shoulder.  
  
"I wouldn't bet on that!" replied Goku with a grin.  
  
"Ha ha! You can't catch me, dad! I - huh? Dad? Dad?"  
  
"GOTCHA!"  
  
"AAAHHHH! NONONONONONONO! STOP IT!"  
  
Goten screamed and flailed wildly as Goku scooped him up from behind and slung him over his shoulder by the ankles.  
  
"Hey! No fair! Put me down! Dad!"  
  
Goten yelled. He struggled. He giggled. He kicked. He tried in vain to wiggle out of his father's grasp, but it was no use.  
  
"Put - me - down!" he bellowed, hitting his hand against Goku's back with every word. The older Saiyan kept walking, smiling wryly as he did so.  
  
"Tag," he said, tapping Goten's knee, "You're it."  
  
"Hey! No fair! You can't do that! I can't." a pause. "Tag," said Goten, smacking his dad's back. "You're it."  
  
"You're it."  
  
"You're it."  
  
"You're it."  
  
"You're it. Wait, stop! This isn't fair. No more tagbacks."  
  
Goku nodded. "Okay." He smiled and waited a second before tapping Goten's shoe. "Tag. You're it. No tagbacks."  
  
"Hey!"  
  
Goku just laughed. Goten pouted.  
  
"Hey!" Goku called to the tall figure in the distance. "Gohan!" The figure turned and waved. Goku started his return to the house, meeting his older son part way there.  
  
"Hey, dad! What's up?"  
  
"You seen Goten anywhere?" asked Goku with a suppressed grin.  
  
"What do you mean? I'm right here!"  
  
Gohan's eyes flew instinctively to the pair of stubby legs peeking out over Goku's shoulder, but he closed his mouth and smiled in response to Goku's gesture. He shrugged casually.  
  
"Not since this morning. I thought he was with you."  
  
"I am! Gohan! Come on, I'm right here! Put me down, dad!"  
  
"Nope. But hey!" said Goku, perking up suddenly. "I did find this really nice sack of potatoes out there in the field."  
  
"Potatoes?" Goten's head shot up. "Where?"  
  
"Oh, good!" replied Gohan. "That will make mom happy."  
  
"Where? Where are they? Can I have some?"  
  
"Yeah it will," nodded Goku. "Got 'em right here over my shoulder."  
  
They both gave this time to sink in.  
  
"Hey! I'm not potatoes!"  
  
It was all the two could do to keep from laughing. Gohan bit his lower lip and held his breath, staring hard at the ground. Goku clapped his hand over his mouth. His eyes twinkled.  
  
"We can have mom cook them for dinner tonight," he said after composing himself fully.  
  
"Hey! Wait! No! Don't eat me! DAAAAD!"  
  
Goten kicked and struggled and pounded the back of his dad's shirt. Goku's eyes widened in mock surprise. He brought Goten around to the front in one fluid motion and set the boy on his feet.  
  
"Goten?" he said, looking down with a shocked expression. "How did you get back there?"  
  
"I WAS there, silly," replied Goten, pouting and folding his arms. "Don't you remember?"  
  
"Then what happened to the potatoes?"  
  
"I don't know what happened to them," said Goten sharply. "I never saw any potatoes."  
  
"I bet I know what happened," said Gohan solemnly. Goten looked up at his big brother curiously. "I bet you ate them, didn't you, Goten?"  
  
"No!" Goten cried in response. "No, I didn't! I don't know where they went!"  
  
"You know what that means, right Goten?" said Goku with equal the solemnity as his older son. Goten shook his head fearfully. "It means. we're going to have to."  
  
Goten's eyes widened. "What?"  
  
"We're going to have to. TICKLE YOU!"  
  
"AHHHH! Nononon. ono. no. n. st-st-oooop. st-stop it. dad. d-d-dad!" Goten gasped and panted and tried to speak between fits of intense giggling, all while fighting the strong hands that lifted him up in the air and tickled him without mercy. Gohan stood back and grinned.  
  
"Hey," came a female voice from the house. "What are you boys up to out here?"  
  
Gohan looked over his shoulder. "Oh. Hi, mom."  
  
Goku set his son back on the ground as Chi-Chi approached the three of them. Goten gasped with relief.  
  
"Hi, Chi-Chi," said Goku brightly.  
  
"H-h-hi.. m. mom," panted Goten.  
  
"What have you three been up to out here? I could hear some very loud giggling all the way in the house."  
  
"We were just playing tag," Goten replied, having finally regained his composure.  
  
"Tag?" said Chi-Chi, feigning disappointment. "And you didn't invite me to play?"  
  
Instantly, Goten felt terrible. He ran over to give his mother a hug. "You can play if you want to, mom," he told her reassuringly. "You too, Gohan."  
  
"Hey, cool," said Gohan mildly. "Who's it?"  
  
Goten drew back almost immediately. He clasped his hands behind his back and looked up at the sky, making a pathetic attempt to whistle. After waiting a couple of seconds, he reached over and smacked Gohan on the knee.  
  
"You are!" Goten cried triumphantly.  
  
"Me?" Gohan looked shocked for a moment. "Not for long," he grinned, tapping his little brother on the shoulder before the boy had a chance to run away. "Now you're it!"  
  
"No tagbacks!" Goten and Goku cried together.  
  
Chi-Chi and Gohan both raised their eyebrows at Goku. The newly revived 'man-of-the-house' reached behind his head and laughed nervously.  
  
"Hey," he said in defense, "I was getting into it."  
  
"So does this mean I'm still it?" Gohan asked his little brother. Goten nodded enthusiastically. Gohan looked slyly at his mother then turned his head to look the other way at Goku.  
  
"Yeah!" cried Goten, clenching his fists ecstatically, "Get dad, get dad, get dad!"  
  
And so the big chase began. Throughout the rest of the afternoon, a chorus of shrieks and yells and laughter and "Get 'him, Gohan!"'s and "Don't you dare, Goku!"'s resounded about the field as the four of them got to do something they had never done before: be a family. Painful memories were not thought of, dark thoughts of the past or the possible future were not dwelled upon; they all ignored the fact that Goku had been dead for seven years and instead relished the fact that he was back on Earth for good.  
  
The afternoon passed quickly. Several hours later, the same quartet could be found sitting together peacefully, watching the sunset from a tranquilly picturesque spot under a thick tree. Goten slumbered peacefully in Goku's lap; to his either side sat Gohan and Chi-Chi. It was nice to sit together like this, like a real family.  
  
Goku smiled and played with the errant black clumps of hair on his youngest son's head. There was nothing about this moment he would have wanted to change. Nothing. It only made him that much more grateful that he had been allowed to return. He only wished it could last forever.  
  
"He's just like you were," whispered Chi-Chi. The two met eyes and she smiled lovingly. "He always has been. Everything except his voice; he's exactly the way I remember you when we first met."  
  
"Really?" said Goku, smiling absently. Chi-Chi nodded.  
  
"You have no idea what it means for him to have a father. You don't know how much this means to him that you're finally here. Or what it means to me." Chi-Chi's eyes began to well with tears. "I missed you so much," she whispered. "I'm so glad you're back."  
  
"Me too, dad," spoke up Gohan quietly. "Me too."  
  
Goku grinned, though his eyes too were beginning to sting at the corners. "Aw, come here." He put his arms around his wife and oldest son, bringing them in closer to one big family hug. Goten stirred in his lap.  
  
There was the sound of a yawn as Goten stretched and blinked slowly.  
  
"Hey there, sleepyhead," said Goku gently.  
  
"Hi, dad. Did I fall asleep."  
  
"Yeah, you did."  
  
"Oh." Goten looked out at the vibrant setting before them. "That's pretty," he commented.  
  
"Yes, it is."  
  
"I'm glad you're here, daddy," said Goten, snuggling further into his father's warm embrace. Goku's eyebrows raised - it was almost as if the boy had been listening to their conversation.  
  
"Me too, Goten," he said softly. "Me too."  
  
Tranquil silence set in again. For a very long time, the four of them basked in the peacefulness of the atmosphere and how very lucky they all were to be living under these circumstances.  
  
Then:  
  
"Dad?"  
  
"Yes, Goten?"  
  
"Whatever happened to the potatoes?"  
  
END 


End file.
